


The Pirate King and His Crew

by ScribeWire



Category: One Piece
Genre: Character Study, Nakamaship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-04-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:33:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23587696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScribeWire/pseuds/ScribeWire
Summary: Monkey D. Luffy was going to be the next Pirate King. It didn't matter what anyone else thought about it (most of them already know) - his crew was all that matters. The Strawhat Pirates knew they were following a king, but they all learned that at different times.ORWhy all of the Strawhats know their captain will be king.
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy & Mugiwara Kaizoku | Strawhat Pirates
Comments: 6
Kudos: 182





	The Pirate King and His Crew

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this A LONG time ago. As in, before Jinbei was going to join. I also have not read the manga, so I only know what has happened in the anime, OVA's, and movies. So no need to worry about any important manga spoilers from me. 
> 
> If you recognize something, it probably isn't mine.
> 
> Please Enjoy!

Monkey D. Luffy was the future Pirate King. There was no doubt in the mind of anyone that knew him. The few that _did_ have any kind of doubt, were either downright stupid, or in denial. It was common knowledge even amongst his rivals that the Captain of the Straw Hats would one day be their King, even if they continued to claim they were the ones who would win, that they would get there first.

Even though everyone that knew him, _knew_ , not everyone knew at the same time. There were those that had to be taught just why it was he would one day be King, some learned over time, and some just instinctively knew. Every run in Mugiwara no Luffy had with someone, ended up with either another ally, willing or reluctant, who wanted to be there the day he claimed his throne, or another enemy who wanted to take him down before he could get there.

No one knew better than his crew. If you asked any one of them, except perhaps Luffy himself, they would tell you that you couldn’t really be a member until you believed you were following a King. Well, the _future_ King, but none of them really paid that particular nuance any attention. They all _knew_ with every fiber of their being that Luffy would be Pirate King, it was just a matter of _when_. Of course, even among them, the time it took to come to this conclusion was different.

Nami had been hit with the realization that her Captian would be King the day he stood at the top of a pile of rubble that had once been the bane of her very existence and declared her his Nakama. She had heard his dream before that day, knew what it was, but she didn’t _believe_ it until then. Standing next to the remains of Arlong Park with Luffy’s precious straw-hat on her head, finally, _finally_ , free, and Luffy yelling at her with all the possessiveness the Captain had with any member of his crew that _she_ was a part of that crew, drove home that this, _this_ , was the future King. She would follow him to the end of the earth and back. She would _navigate_ him there herself.

Franky was someone else who didn’t immediately believe that the underwhelming snot-nosed brat that had beat his family would be so great. The Cyborg didn’t even hear his dream until after he was on the boat and sailing the Grand Line. However, he had seen the lengths the Rubber Man went for his friends. He was stood at the top of the tower when he told his Sniper to light the World Government flag on fire. _He was there_ when Monkey D. Luffy, declared war on the _entire world_ for taking his friend, his crewmate, his _family_. How could he ever doubt his King after witnessing that? No, Luffy would be King of the Pirates. And Franky? Franky would sail with him, and the ship he had built for him, because _The_ _Thousand Sunny_ would be his throne. _The Thousand Sunny_ , was _already_ his throne. Sunny was a lion after all.

Robin had also been there when Luffy declared war on the world. It had been done for her sake and she would never forget it. But if asked, she wouldn’t say that she believed in him because of _that_. Luffy had done a lot of amazing things, and most of them he didn’t think were anything special. For Luffy wouldn’t understand why someone _wouldn’t_ declare war to save a friend. No, Robin didn’t think, didn’t _know_ he would be King because he’d saved her _that_ day. Nico Robin, the last survivor of Oharra, believed that Mugiwara no Luffy would be King of the Pirates because he had saved her _long_ before then, and _every day_ after. Luffy didn’t care about her past. He gave her a home, a place to belong. No one, not a single person had done that since the day her island was destroyed. He had faith in her, so it was only fair that she had faith in him.

Chopper, much like Robin, believed in Luffy because Luffy had accepted him. He was a monster, and Luffy didn’t care. Luffy _wanted_ him. Luffy wanted _him_. Chopper never thought he would find that outside of Doctor and Docturine. But then the Captain showed up, saved his home, saved the Doctor’s flag, and then he had saved _him_. Luffy welcomed the little reindeer into his crew despite him being a monster. _Because_ he was a monster. Chopper saw Luffy as someone amazing, and almost untouchable, so _of course_ he was going to be Pirate King. Even if the world saw Chopper as nothing more than a strange pet, Luffy saw him differently. The reindeer had already wanted to be the best doctor in the world, he wanted to _be_ the miracle cure, but for Luffy, he _also_ wanted to be a _monster_. So, the world could continue to see him as a pet, because to the Pirate King? What better pet was there than a monster?

Brook didn’t care if Luffy would be King or not. Oh, he knew he would be, but that wasn’t why he was following him. Luffy had given Brook a reason to live, even if he was already dead. Brook had been in a crew, he had been _captain_ of that crew later, and he had _lost_ his crew. He had been fated to roam the world forever in a boat he couldn’t steer, stuck in a half dead state. But then the small Captain had come. He came, and he took back his shadow. He told him of his last surviving companion. Then he invited him to join the crew. Brook had a reason to live again, and he believed with every bone that made up his being that his Captain would be King. He _deserved_ to be King. If “Dead Bones” Brook, the “Humming Swordsman” had anything to say about it, his Captain _would_ be King.

Sanji found out pretty quickly that you don’t just say no to Luffy. “Can’t” isn’t a word that the boy was familiar with. The Chef wouldn’t say it had been knowledge-at-first-sight, but as he had stood next to Zeff as the older man explained Luffy’s will to him, it occurred to the blonde that with a will like that, _anything_ was possible. Initially this meant he wouldn’t be laughed at for _his_ dream. Later, he learned it meant cooking for a King. Sanji only felt pride at that. Luffy’s will was such that there was _nothing_ he couldn’t do. So, Sanji had no doubt that Luffy would be King. Sanji wouldn’t admit it, but he couldn’t wait to be a _royal_ Chef.

Usopp, if asked, couldn’t say when it was that he became _certain_ that Luffy would be Pirate King. It could have been when Luffy had accepted him back to the crew with just a simple apology. It could have been when Luffy took their fight seriously when he had left. It could have been when he found Robin on that train taking them to Enies Lobby and told her that she couldn’t leave the crew without the Captain’s permission, to _have faith_ in Luffy. Perhaps it had been when he _burnt the Government flag_ to declare war on the world _without_ hesitating or flinching with _just a word_ from his Captain. It could have been after one of the many feats he had watched the Rubber Man perform since joining him back in East Blue. Or perhaps, maybe, it was the fact that he had been invited to join the crew at all. Luffy, Mugiwara no Luffy, one of the 11 Supernova Rookies, the man who had beaten not one, not two, but three Shichibukai, became allies with three other Shichibukai, (four if the weird thing with Buggy was counted), had a crewmate that was trained by yet another Shichibukai, the son of Monkey D. Dragon, leader of the Revolutionaries, grandson of Monkey D. Garp, Vice Admiral in the Marines, and protégé of one of the four Yonko had invited him, _him_ , a coward and a liar to join his crew. And he had done it as if it was obvious he should be there. No, Usopp could not say when it was that he knew for certain that Luffy would be Pirate King. He just _knew_. Who else could it possibly be?

Then there was Zoro. Zoro had always been just a little bit different from the others. He was the first to join the crew, the one who made it so that there even _was_ a crew. Because of Zoro, the Straw Hat Pirates were started. That alone made him different, even if Luffy didn’t say anything. Even if no one else said anything. Zoro, unlike the others, had known from the _very_ _start_ that Luffy would be Pirate King. The Swordsman had known from the moment the strange boy had walked up to him and introduced himself, all while Zoro was tied to a post. Monkey D. Luffy would be the King of the Pirates because that was what he had decided to do. Who was Zoro to judge or doubt someone else’s dream? Let alone someone with a dream just as lofty as his? _Zoro_ would be the world’s greatest swordsman, and _Luffy_ would be the Pirate King. It was simple. There was no doubt. Luffy had smiled at him, made his declaration, and Zoro _just knew_. Perhaps that was what made him different? He had known from the moment he laid eyes on his Captain just how incredible he would be, how incredible he _already was_. There was never any doubt, there was no need to learn. But then there had been Mihawk, and Kuma, and _Saboady_.

Zoro was the First-mate. Luffy had never officially declared it, _no one_ had officially declared it, but everyone on the crew _knew_. Luffy was their Captain, and Zoro was the First-mate. As such, it was Zoro’s job to protect Luffy’s dream. Whether that meant standing by his side as a silent show of support or cutting down enemies and _fools_ who dared to mock them, or even scolding Luffy himself to keep him on track. It was a self-appointed job, but it was one the Swordsman felt was needed. Luffy would be the _first_ to throw away his own dream to ensure everyone else, _anyone_ else, achieved theirs. But Zoro knew; Luffy would be Pirate King. His Captain would achieve his dream, or he would die trying. And Zoro would be _damned_ if he let his Captain die. So, it was fate, really, that day that Zoro, bound, immobile, and hungry, had looked up into the smiling face of Monkey D. Luffy, his Captain, _his King_ , and agreed to join him. According to Zoro, and even Luffy when asked later, the moment that Zoro said “Yes, Captain,” was the moment Luffy became King. The rest of the world just didn’t know it yet.

**Author's Note:**

> Constructive criticism is welcome, but don't just tell me you do or don't like something. Tell me WHY. If you don't like something, I appreciate ideas on how to change it for future works.


End file.
